Biosample cartridge with radial slots for storing biosample carriers and using in automated data storage systems

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a biosample cartridge that includes radial slots for storing biosample carriers. The biosample cartridge has the same form factor as data tape cartridges used in automated tape libraries to allow the biosample cartridge to be handled by the same robotic mechanisms that handle the data tape cartridges. One aspect of the disclosure concerns a biosample cartridge that includes a rotatable biosample carrier holder. The biosample carrier holder includes radial slots for receiving biosample carriers which optionally contain biosamples for scanning and analysis by automated tape libraries.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the invention relate to analytical devices and systems,and more particularly, to a cartridge with radial slots for storingbiosample carriers. The cartridge may be stored in the cartridge storageslots of a tape library system and handled by the robotic mechanism ofthe tape library system.

Samples of biological matters are analyzed in bio-assay processes todetect the presence of bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and othersubstances of interest. The biological samples may be stored in samplecarriers, such as microscope slides and capillary tubes, and analyzed bya biological detection instrument. The detection instrument may recordthe analysis results of a biosample on a data storage medium such as acomputer memory, disk drive, magnetic tape, or compact disk, which mayinclude an identification tag to correlate the biosample with theanalysis results.

High-performance computer data storage systems such as optical disc andmagnetic tape libraries possess the necessary automation to scan andanalyze the biosamples at a very high speed, and tabulate the resultinganalysis data. For example, these systems may analyze the biosamplesusing magnetic tape read-sensors to detect magnetized nanoparticlesattached to the biosamples. The biosamples and analysis data may bestored in different locations following the analysis, which make itdifficult to correlate the biosamples with the corresponding data whenneeded.

For a large number of biosamples and carriers (e.g., microscope slidesand capillary tubes) used to store the biosamples, the task ofcorrelating the biosamples to their data becomes even more complex. Itis desirable to exploit the use of automation functions available indata storage library systems to facilitate the correlation andmanagement of biosample carriers and biosample analysis data.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The disclosure relates to storage cartridges that include internalradial slots for holding biosample carriers and have the same formfactor as data storage cartridges. The biosample storage cartridges maybe handled by the same robotic mechanisms that handle data cartridges inautomated data storage library systems. One aspect of the disclosureconcerns a biosample cartridge that has an enclosure with a movable doorto provide access to a rotatable biosample carrier holder in theenclosure, wherein the biosample cartridge has the same form factor asdata tape cartridges used in automated tape libraries. The biosamplecarrier holder includes radial slots for holding biosample carrierswhich can be accessed through the movable door of the enclosure. Thebiosample carriers contain biosamples that may be scanned and analyzedwithin an automated tape library.

Another aspect of the invention concerns an analytical system thatcomprises an automated tape library for use with a biosample storagecartridge. The biosample storage cartridge has an enclosure with amovable door to provide access to a rotatable biosample carrier holderin the enclosure. The biosample carrier holder includes radial slots forholding biosample carriers. The biosample carriers contain biosamplesthat are scanned and analyzed within the automated tape library. Thecartridge enclosure has the same form factor as a data tape cartridgeused in the automated tape library and can be handled by roboticcartridge-handling mechanism in the automated tape library.

Still another aspect of the disclosure concerns an analytical systemthat comprises a tape drive and a biosample storage cartridge. Thebiosample storage cartridge has an enclosure with a movable door toprovide access to a rotatable biosample carrier holder in the enclosure.The biosample carrier holder includes radial slots for holding biosamplecarriers such as microscope slides and capillary tubes. The biosamplecarriers contain biosamples that may be scanned and analyzed by ananalyzer having the same cartridge loader, drive motor, and driveelectronics as a tape drive, and this analyzer resides in the automatedstorage library. The cartridge enclosure has the same form factor as adata tape cartridge used in the tape drive, thus allowing the common useof key tape drive and tape library components in the analyzer.

The details of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, both as toits structure and operation, are described below in the DetailedDescription section in reference to the accompanying drawings. The BriefSummary is intended to identify key features of the claimed subjectmatter, but it is not intended to be used to limit the scope of theclaimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary biosample cartridge for storingbiosample carriers, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a biosample storage cartridge with its cover openedto show a biosample carrier holder that includes radial slots forreceiving biosample carriers, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2B illustrates a biosample storage slot with leaf springs attachedto the its interior walls for retaining a biosample carrier in the slotwhen the biosample storage cartridge is in motion, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a biosample storage cartridge with its cover openedto show a biosample carrier holder that includes radial cylindricalslots for receiving biosample capillary tubes, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example biosample storage cartridge which includesa spring and brake mechanism for controlling the movement of thebiosample carrier holder to access selected radial slots in the holder,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a biosample access drive for controllably rotating abiosample storage cartridge with radial slots, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a memory component and a wirelesscommunication interface, which may be part of a biosample storagecartridge, for storing and transferring information related to thecartridge and its contents, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an automated data storage tape library that may beused with the biosample storage cartridge having radial slots, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of the main components of a modifieddata storage tape drive that may be used for analyzing a biosample andstoring biosample identification and analysis data, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the main components in a computer,which may be incorporated into a tape drive, a data storage tapelibrary, and a cartridge memory to provide control and processingfunctions, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a biosample storage cartridgethat includes a rotatable holder having radial slots for holdingbiosample carriers such as microscope glass slides and capillary tubes.The biosamples of the cartridge may be scanned and analyzed by a tapedrive in an automated tape library. Such as a tape drive may be modifiedfrom a typical tape drive for the purposes of biosample analysis. Thecartridge may be handled by the robotic mechanisms of the library andstored in the cartridge storage slots of the automated tape library. Thebiosample carriers contain biological samples that may be processed andmagnetically labeled by electromagnetic tape heads in a write operation.The magnetically labeled biological samples may then be scanned and readby anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR), giant magnetoresistive (GMR) ortunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) read sensors to detect the presence oftarget substances or micro-organisms in the biological samples.

The biosample storage cartridge has the same form factor as a magnetictape cartridge used to store data and thus may be conveniently accessed,manipulated, and processed by robotic mechanisms in tape drives and tapelibraries. The biosample storage cartridge may be handled through thesame library internal-external mail slot as a tape cartridge. The sametape automation mechanisms and processes used in modern tape librariesmay be employed for long-term biological-archival storage of thebiosamples contained in the biosample storage cartridge.

The radial slots in the biosample storage cartridge may include one ormore leaf springs to retain the biosample carriers in place when thecartridge is moved, for example, by a robotic picker in an automatedtape library or when the storage cartridge is in shipment. In oneembodiment, the rotatable carrier holder includes radial and rectangularslots for receiving biosample carriers in the form of microscope slides.In another embodiment, the rotatable carrier holder includes radial andcylindrical slots for receiving capillary tubes. Exemplary embodimentsof the biosample storage cartridge with radial slots are described indetail below with reference to FIGS. 1-5.

Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, there isillustrated an exemplary biosample storage cartridge 100 which includesinternal radial slots for holding biosample carriers. The biosamplestorage cartridge 100 comprises an enclosure 101 which may include oneor more parts assembled together such as top and bottom covers. Thecartridge enclosure 101 may have a movable side door 102 that can beslid open, for example by a cartridge access mechanism in a tape drive,to gain access to the interior space of the cartridge 100. Such a tapedrive may be adapted to perform an analysis of a biosample stored in abiosample carrier. In one embodiment, the biosample storage cartridge100 may comprise a top shell 101A and a bottom shell 101B, wherein thetop shell 101A is removably affixed to the bottom shell 101B by screwsor other fasteners. Alternatively, the biosample storage cartridge 100may have a front, top, or rear door that is movable to provide access tothe biosample carriers in the cartridge.

The biosample storage cartridge 100 may have the same dimensions andexterior form factor as a magnetic tape storage cartridge based on LTO(Linear Tape Open) technology, the IBM TS1140 magnetic tape data storagecartridge, or the Oracle T10000 tape cartridge. In an alternateembodiment, earlier models of IBM single-reel tape cartridges could beused, such as the 3480, 3490, and 3590 tape cartridges. In a datastorage cartridge, a data storage media such as a magnetic tape, may bemounted on a tape reel and occupy the space inside the biosample storagecartridge 100 rather than the biosample carriers. Such a tape datastorage cartridge may comprise a cartridge brake release button to allowthe tape reel to freely rotate once the cartridge is loaded into a datastorage drive.

The biosample storage cartridge 100 may further include one or morecartridge memories 103 for storing identification information about thestorage cartridge 100, data related to the biosample carriers, andanalysis data of the biosamples on the biosample carriers in thecartridge 100. Each cartridge memory 103 may comprise a transponderhaving a wireless interface, which is retained in the cartridge 100, forexample, by being encapsulated by the cartridge when it is assembled inmanufacturing. The encapsulation process is understood by those of skillin the art as applied to a single cartridge memory.

FIG. 2A illustrates a biosample storage cartridge 200 with its top coverremoved to show a biosample carrier holder for holding biosamplecarriers, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Bottomcover 201B may be held to a top cover (not shown) by mating pins 204 andscrews. The storage cartridge 200 comprises a rotatable carrier holder205 for holding biosample carriers 208. The rotatable biosample carrierholder 205 may be attached to the bottom cover 201B by a center pin 207which allows the biosample carrier holder 205 to freely rotate aroundthe center pin 207. In one embodiment, the biosample carrier holder 205has the form factor of a data tape reel in a data storage tapecartridge.

The biosample carrier holder 205 includes radial slots 206 for holdingbiosample carriers 208. The biosample carriers 208 may be rectangularmicroscope slides of glass that are commonly used for biological andchemical analysis. Each of the radial slots 206 may have one or moreleaf springs 210 attached to the inside walls of the radial slots 206 toretain the biosample carriers 208 in the radial slots 206, asillustrated in FIG. 2B. The leaf springs 210 prevent the biosamplecarriers 208 from falling out of the radial slots 206 when the biosamplestorage cartridge 200 is being moved, for example, by the robotic arm ofan automated tape library system. The robotic arm may grasp thecartridge 200 at notches 209 in the cartridge cover 201B. An opening inbottom cover 201B, which is normally covered by movable door 202 whenthe biosample cartridge 200 is not in use, provides access to thebiosample carriers 208 in the cartridge 200. Each radial slot 206 andbiosample carrier 208 may include a barcode or QR (Quick Response) codefor identification, which may be read by a barcode reader or QR readerin an automated tape library as described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 2A further illustrates one or more memory components 203 in thebiosample storage cartridge 200 for storing data related to thecartridge 200 and its contents. This data may include, for example,identification information on the cartridge 200, the biosample carriers208, and the biological samples in the carriers 208. The cartridgememory 203 may further include analysis data on the biological samplesin the biosample storage cartridge 200 and relevant dates such as whenthe biosamples were created and analyzed. The cartridge memory 203 maybe in communication with a wireless communication interface to sendinformation to and receive information from a remote transceiver, forexample, in a tape library system that handles the biosample storagecartridge 200.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a biosample storage cartridge300 in which biosample carrier holder 305 includes radial cylindricalslots 306 for holding biosample carriers in the form of capillary tubes308. In one embodiment, the diameter of the cylindrical slots 306 may beslightly larger than the diameter of the capillary tubes 308 to snuglyaccommodate the capillary tubes 308 and firmly retain the capillarytubes 308 in the cylindrical slots 306 by friction. For example, thecapillary tubes 308 may have a diameter of 1.0 mm and the diameter ofthe cylindrical slots 306 is slightly larger than 1.0 mm, e.g., 1.1 mm.In an alternate embodiment, the material containing the radialcylindrical slots 306 is elastic, such as a polymer or elastomer, andthe diameter of the radial cylindrical slots 306 is slightly smallerthan the diameter of the capillary tubes 308, ranging from 0.90 mm to1.0 mm. The biosample carrier holder 305 of the cartridge 300 may berotatably attached to an enclosure bottom cover 301B at center pin 307.The bottom cover 301B may be coupled to a top cover (not shown) byalignment pins 304. The bottom cover 301B further includes a slidingdoor 302 to provide access to the biosample carriers 308 and one or morememories 303 to store biosample data.

The inside and outside of a biosample storage cartridges 200 and 300 mayhave a coating of a thin nanocomposite film that comprises titaniumdioxide and nitrogen to eradicate bacteria which might try to escape thecartridges. Titanium dioxide based coatings can eradicate bacteria afteractivation with UV light. The addition of nitrogen to these coatingsenables photons available in visible light to be utilized to activatethe surface and eradicate bacteria. Alternately, this coating maycomprise nickel-alloy, copper-alloy, zinc oxide, or a film comprisingsilver particles in a fluoropolymer matrix enhanced by depositing anadditional very thin layer of gold or brass clusters.

In another embodiment, the biosample storage cartridges 200 and 300 mayhave the same form factor as a dual reel cartridge, such as the IBM 3570cartridge. A dual reel cartridge includes a supply reel and a take-offreel and the tape is fed between the two reels. Such a biosample storagecartridge comprises a rotary biosample carrier holder 205 or 305 in thespace occupied by the two tape reels instead of the space occupied by asingle tape reel, as described with reference to FIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example biosample storage cartridge 400 whichincludes a spring and brake mechanism for controlling the movement ofthe biosample carrier holder to access selected radial slots in theholder, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The biosamplestorage cartridge 400 includes a top cover 401A and bottom cover 401Bwhich together form the cartridge enclosure. Bottom cover 401B mayinclude one or more cartridge memory 403 for storing biosample,cartridge, and carrier data and wirelessly communicating with anexternal device. Rotatable biosample carrier holder 405 includesmultiple radial slots 406 for holding biosample carriers 408, forexample, in the form of microscope slides. The biosample carrier holder405 may be controllably rotated around axis Z by a biosample accessdrive that reaches the biosample carrier holder 405 through an opening414 in the bottom cover 401B. Such a biosample access drive is describedbelow with reference to FIG. 5.

In one embodiment, the movement of the biosample carrier holder 405 maybe controlled by spring 412 and brake 413. One end of the spring 412 isattached to the interior surface 411 of the top cover 401A. The otherend of the spring 412 is attached to the brake 413. The brake 413 isdisengaged from the rotatable biosample carrier holder 405 when abiosample access drive, such as drive 520 illustrated in FIG. 5,activates and rotates the biosample carrier holder 405 to access atarget biosample carrier 408 in the biosample cartridge 400. When thebiosample access drive 520 no longer rotates the biosample storageholder 405, the brake 413 and spring 412 mechanism applies pressure onthe biosample carrier holder 405 to prevent unwanted movement of thebiosample carrier holder 405.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example biosample access drive 520 forcontrollably rotating a biosample storage cartridge 500, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. The biosample access drive 520 maybe the same drive that accesses a data storage tape cartridge in a tapedrive or another drive designed for accessing the biosample storagecartridge 500. The biosample access drive 520 includes a motor 522 and aclutch 521 that is attached to the motor 522 by motor shaft 527. Acontrol microprocessor 523 may send appropriate signals to the motor522, via amplifier 524, to start, stop, and reverse the rotation of theclutch 521. The clutch 521 is in contact with the biosample carrierholder 505 through opening 514 in the bottom cover 501B, and thusrotates the biosample carrier holder 505 under the control ofmicroprocessor 523 to access a selected biosample carrier 508 from itsradial storage slot 506.

The biosample access drive 520 may include a rotary encoder 525 attachedto motor 522 to assist with information on the current position of thebiosample carrier holder 505. This positional information may be sensedby a sensor 526, e.g., an optical sensor, and sent to the microprocessor523 of the biosample access drive 520. The microprocessor 523 is furtherin communication with the cartridge memory 503 in the biosample storagecartridge 500, via wireless transponder 528 coupled to themicroprocessor 523. Thus, the microprocessor 523 has access to thelatest information related to the biosample storage cartridge 500, thebiosample carriers 508, and data on the biosamples that are currently inthe biosample carriers 508.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the functional components of acartridge memory 612 and wireless communication interface 613, which maybe part of a biosample storage cartridge memory, e.g., the cartridgememory 503 in the biosample storage cartridge 500. The memory component612 may include information about the biosample storage cartridge 500,biosample carriers 507 stored in the biosample storage cartridge 500,and biosamples on the biosample carriers 508. In one embodiment, thememory component 612 may comprise a nonvolatile memory 615, such as anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), aphase-change memory, flash memory, NOR memory, or a NAND memory arrangedto operate in a low power environment.

Memory component 612 may comprise a memory processor 614, such as logicor a microprocessor chip, for example, an Intel Pentium™ chip arrangedto operate in a low power environment, such as a portable computer. Thememory processor 614 may have computer readable program code embodiedtherein, including suitable security and encryption/decryptionalgorithms, and the logic for accessing and operating the memorycomponent 612. The nonvolatile storage 615 may comprise a separate chipattached to the logic or memory processor 614, or may comprise a portionof the same chip. The computer readable program code may be stored in anonvolatile internal memory of the processor 614 or in the nonvolatilememory 615, and loaded into the processor 614. Alternatively, the memorycomponent 612 may be operated by a control system or processor of ananalytical system that uses the biosample storage cartridge 500.

In the illustrated embodiment, the wireless communication interface 613may be a radio frequency (RF) wireless interface. An example of an RFwireless interface is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,201. A highfrequency inductive wireless interface may also be employed, which is ofsufficiently high frequency so that it does not adversely affectmagnetic storage media that may be present in a tape library system thathandles the biosample storage cartridge 500. Examples of high frequencyinductive wireless interfaces are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,981,U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,836, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,624.

The wireless communication interface 613 includes an antenna 616 forreceiving an RF signal from an RF interface of either a tape drivemodified to perform bio-analysis or a robotic picker that moves abiosample storage cartridge, e.g., cartridge 500, in a tape librarysystem. The antenna 616 may be positioned at an angle in the range of30-60 degrees for optimal reception of the RF signal, e.g., at 45degrees as shown for the cartridge memory 503 of FIG. 5, by either thetape library 700 in FIG. 7 or a modified tape drive 800 in FIG. 8. Theantenna 616 may be a quarter wave antenna, a fractal antenna, or theinductor of an inductor-capacitor oscillator.

A coupler 617 supplies the received signal to a power conversion circuit618 and to a data demodulator 619. The power conversion circuit 618converts the received signal to a power current, supplying the currenton line 621 to all devices on the biosample storage cartridge 500,including the memory component 612, the data demodulator 619, and a datamodulator 620. The received signal from antenna 616 may be encoded.

The data demodulator 619 receives the incoming coded signal from coupler617 and demodulates the signal to provide data signals to the memorycomponent 612 and for writing to memory 615. Data signals being readfrom memory 615 and memory component 612 are provided to the datamodulator 620 which encodes the signals for transmission by coupler 617and antenna 616 to an RF interface, which may be in either the roboticpicker of the tape library system that handles the biosample storagecartridge 500 or in the tape drive modified to perform bio-analysis.

FIG. 7 illustrates an automated data storage tape library 700 that maybe used with the biosample storage cartridge shown in FIGS. 1-6, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The data storage tapelibrary 700 is an automated tape library that may include a number oftape drives 710 for reading and writing data on magnetic tape media,such as single-reel or two-reel magnetic tape cartridges. Examples ofthe library 700 include IBM TS3400™ and TS3500™ Tape Libraries, IBMTotalStorage™ 3494 Tape Libraries, and IBM 3952™ Tape Frames Model C20,which store magnetic tape cartridges and use IBM TS1140™ tape drives.Other examples of the library 700 include IBM TS3310™ and TS3100/3200™tape libraries which store magnetic tape cartridges and use IBM LTO(Linear Tape Open) tape drives. Tape drives modified to performbio-analysis accept cartridges 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 from therobotic picker, withdraw a biosample carrier 208 through a cartridgedoor, e.g., door 102 of cartridge 100, and perform the bio-analysis.

A plurality of cartridges 720 are stored in banks or groups of cartridgestorage slots 721. Cartridges 720 may comprise tape media for datastorage, tape substrate for biosamples, or biosample carriers 208, 308,408 and 508 for bio-analysis. Tape media may encompass a variety ofmedia, such as that contained in magnetic tape cartridges, magnetic tapecassettes, and optical tape cartridges, in various formats. Foruniversal reference to any of these types of media, the terms “tapemedia” or “media” are used herein, and any of these types of containersare referred to as “tape cartridges” or “cartridges” herein. An accessrobot 723, including a cartridge picker 722 and a barcode or QR-codereader 724 mounted on the cartridge picker 722, transports a selectedcartridge 720 between a cartridge storage slot 721 and a drive 710.Barcode or QR-code reader 724 is mounted directly on picker 722 so thatthe library 700 can check the barcode or QR-code on cartridge 720 beforepicking the cartridge and transporting it to a drive 710, storage slot721, or import/export mail slot 726.

The automated tape library 700 further has a library controller 725which includes at least one microprocessor. The library controller 725may serve to provide an inventory of the cartridges 720 and to controlthe library 700. Typically, the library controller 725 has suitablememory and data storage capability to control the operation of thelibrary 700. The library controller 725 controls the actions of theaccess robot 723, cartridge picker 722, and barcode or QR-code reader724. Barcode or QR-code reader 724 may read a barcode or QR-code from acartridge such as cartridge 200. Cartridge storage slot 721 may have abarcode and/or QR-code to designate an empty storage slot, for inventorypurposes.

The library controller 725 is interconnected through an interface to oneor more host processors, which provides commands requesting access to aparticular biosample carrier or a biosample cartridge in a particularcartridge storage slot. A host, either directly or through the librarycontroller, controls the actions of the drives 710 which either performdata IO with tape media or, if suitably modified, perform bio-analysison biosamples extracted from the biosample carriers. Commands foraccessing data or locations on the tape media and biosample carriers,and information to be recorded on or to be read from selected tape mediaand biosample carriers, are transmitted between the drives 710 and thehost. The library controller 725 is typically provided with a databasefor locating the cartridges 720 in the appropriate storage slots 721 andfor maintaining the cartridge inventory.

Library 700 also includes an import/export mail slot 726, which is aportal allowing cartridges 720 to be entered into or removed fromlibrary 700. Since cartridges 720 have a generally identical exteriordimensions regardless of whether they hold data tape or biosample tubes,cartridges 720 may enter library 700 through import/export mail slot726, picked up by picker 722 and transported to either cartridge-storageslot 721 or drives 710. Drives 710 would have a common cartridge loadermechanism, whether the drive is a data drive or a bio-analysis drive,because of cartridges 720 having identical exterior dimensions.Similarly, picker 722 may pick a cartridge 720 from a drive 710 orcartridge-storage slot 721 and place it in import/export mail slot 726for removal from library 700. In an alternate embodiment, biosamplecartridges 720 are a different color from cartridges containing digitaldata, as well as containing information regarding their intended purposein cartridge memories, e.g., memory 503. In yet another embodiment, datacartridges are labeled with barcodes, and biosample cartridges arelabeled with QR-codes.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of the functional components in atape drive that may be used for analyzing a biosample and storingbiosample identification and analysis data, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The magnetic tape drive 800 comprises amemory interface 831 for reading information from and writinginformation to one or more of the cartridge memories 832 of the magnetictape cartridge 833, for example, in a contactless manner.

A read/write servo system is provided for reading and writinginformation to the data storage media, such as magnetic tape, ornanoparticles attached to the biosamples, and may comprise a read/writehead 834 coupled to a servo system for moving the read/write head 834laterally across biosample plate 853. The servo system may comprise aread/write and servo control 836 and a cartridge motor system 837 whichactivates motor 838 to move biosample carrier holder 835 of a biosamplecartridge 833. A cartridge gripper 852 of sample-carrier picker 851 cangrasp a rectangular slide or capillary tube carrier 853 that contains abiosample from cartridge 833 and move the biosample carrier 853longitudinally across the write elements and read sensors of head 834.It is biosample picker control 850 which controls gripper 852 ofbiosample-carrier picker 851. The biosample picker servo 850 controlsthe operation of the sampler-carrier picker 851 to move the sample 853across the read/write head 834 at a desired velocity. The read/write andservo control 836 may determine the location of the read/write head 834with respect to biosample carrier 853.

In one example, the read/write head 834 and read/write and servo control836 employ servo signals from a servo track on biosample carrier 853 todetermine the relative location of the read/write head 834 to biosamplecarrier 853. The read/write head 834 and read/write and servo control836, motor servo 837, and biosample-carrier picker servo 850 maycomprise hardware elements and may comprise any suitable form of logic,including a processor operated by software, or microcode, or firmware,or may comprise hardware logic, or a combination.

A control system 840 communicates with the memory interface 831 tocartridge memories 832, a read/write system, e.g., at read/write andservo control 836, motor servo 837, and biosample-carrier picker servo850. The control system 840 may comprise any suitable form of logic,including a processor operated by software, or microcode, or firmware,or may comprise hardware logic, or a combination thereof. The controlsystem 840 typically communicates with one or more host systems 841, andoperates the data storage drive 800 in accordance with commandsoriginating at a host. Alternatively, the data storage drive 800 mayform part of a subsystem, such as a library, and may also receive andrespond to commands from the subsystem.

As illustrated, the data storage drive 800 provides information to acartridge memory 832 of the magnetic tape cartridge 833, and providesdata to the cartridge memories 832 of the magnetic tape cartridge 833.

In one embodiment, the data storage tape drive 800 may function as ananalytical system for scanning the biosample carrier 853 and analyzingbiological samples stored in the biosample carriers 853 to detect thepresence of target antigens or substances. The magneto-resistive (MR)heads of the read/write head 834 in data storage drive 800 may act asthe scanners for reading data from the biosamples. Write elements ofread/write head 834 may magnetize nanoparticles used to tag thebiosamples which are subsequently read or detected by the AMR, GMR, orTMR magnetoresitive read sensors. For example, a read/write head 834 maybe used to detect micro-organisms and antigens that are attached tomagnetized nanoparticles.

Read-write head 834 may scan a large number of biosamples deposited onbiosample carrier 853 at high speed. The tape drive 800 electronics maythen process the signals from the read-write head 834 to detect thepresence of target micro-organisms or antigens in the biosamples. Suchas bio-assay process is described, for example, in the commonly-assignedU.S. patent application entitled “Detection Of Analytes ViaNanoparticle-Labeled Substances With Electromagnetic Read-Write Heads”,Ser. No. 12/888,388, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a representative computer system,some of which may be incorporated in a data storage tape library and acartridge memory to provide control and processing function, forproviding aspects of the disclosure. Computer system 900 includes aprocessor 901, a memory 902, a persistent storage 903, a communicationinterface 904, an input/output unit 905, a display 906 and a system bus907. Computer programs are typically stored in persistent storage 903until they are needed for execution by an operating system running inmemory 902. Persistent storage 903 may comprise one or more hard diskdrives and multiple hard disk drives may be organized into a RAID, CD(Compact Disk) drives, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) drives, BD (Blu-Ray)drives, SSD (Solid State Drives), and solid state memory. At that time,the programs are brought into the memory 902 so that they can bedirectly accessed by the processor 901. The processor 901 selects a partof memory 902 to read and/or write by using an address that theprocessor 901 gives to memory 902 along with a request to read and/orwrite. Usually, the reading and interpretation of an encoded instructionat an address causes the processor 901 to fetch a subsequentinstruction, either at a subsequent address or some other address. Theprocessor 901, memory 902, persistent storage 903, communicationinterface 904, input/output unit 905, and display 906 interface witheach other through the system bus 907.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andsubstitutions of the described components and operations can be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure defined in the following claims, the scope ofwhich is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompasssuch modifications and equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cartridge for storing biosample carriers,comprising: an enclosure having the same form factor as a data tapecartridge used in an automated tape library; and a rotatable biosamplecarrier holder disposed in the enclosure and having a plurality ofradial slots for receiving the biosample carriers.
 2. The cartridge ofclaim 1, wherein the biosample carrier holder is controllably rotated toallow access to a selected biosample carrier.
 3. The cartridge of claim1, wherein the cartridge has a form factor selected from the groupconsisting of an LTO type cartridge, a TS1140 tape cartridge, a T10000tape cartridge, and an optical disk cartridge.
 4. The cartridge of claim1, wherein the biosample carriers are microscope slides.
 5. Thecartridge of claim 4, wherein each of the microscope slides includes aplurality of trenches on a surface of said each microscope slide forholding a biological sample.
 6. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein thebiosample carriers are capillary tubes.
 7. The cartridge of claim 1,wherein each of the radial slots includes a plurality of leaf springsfor retaining a respective biosample carrier in position.
 8. Thecartridge of claim 1, wherein an interior of the radial slots is coatedwith diamond-like carbon to mitigate sliding friction.
 9. The cartridgeof claim 1, wherein the biosample carrier holder and interior of theenclosure are coated with an antibacterial compound to mitigatebiosample escaping.
 10. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein each of thebiosample carriers includes a barcode for identifying said eachbiosample carrier.
 11. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein each of theradial slots includes a barcode for identifying said each radial slot.12. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a spring and brakemechanism for controlling movement of the biosample carrier holder. 13.The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a memory module for storingbiosample data and identification data of the biosample carriers andradial slots.
 14. The cartridge of claim 13, further comprising awireless communication interface coupled to the memory module forsending data to and receiving data from the automated tape library. 15.The cartridge of claim 13, wherein the memory module comprises anonvolatile memory selected from the group consisting ofelectrically-erasable programmable read-only memory, phase-changememory, flash memory, NOR memory, and NAND memory.
 16. The cartridge ofclaim 1, wherein a biosample access drive rotates the biosample carrierholder through an opening in the enclosure.
 17. The cartridge of claim16, wherein the biosample access drive includes a rotary encoder toprovide information on a position of the biosample carrier holder. 18.The cartridge of claim 16, wherein the biosample access drive includes afirst wireless communication interface for communicating with a secondwireless communication interface in the cartridge.
 19. An analyticalsystem comprising: an automated tape library; a cartridge comprising anenclosure having the same form factor as a data tape cartridge used inthe automated tape library; and a rotatable biosample carrier holderdisposed in the enclosure and having a plurality of radial slots forreceiving the biosample carriers.
 20. An analytical system comprising: atape drive; and a cartridge comprising an enclosure having the same formfactor as a data tape cartridge used in the tape drive; and a rotatablebiosample carrier holder disposed in the enclosure and having aplurality of radial slots for receiving the biosample carriers.